API documentation (SDMX-ML)

About the Rest-SDMX API

The OECD provides access to datasets in the catalogue of OECD databases through a RESTful application programming interface (API) based on the SDMX-ML standard. This allows a developer to easily call the API using simple RESTful URL programmatically.

What is SDMX-ML protocol?

The SDMX Technical Standards Version 1.0 establishes an information model which describes aggregated statistical data sets and the structural metadata needed to exchange them in a standard fashion. Based on the SDMX information model, XML formats (SDMX-ML) are used for exchange of structural metadata, data sets and queries. Versions 2.0 and 2.1 build on this foundation established in version 1.0 to provide a higher degree of support for the SDMX information model, with an emphasis on data sharing in the form of a set of standard registry services interfaces.

Rest-SDMX service methods

Method

Use

GetKeyFamily/GetDataStructure

Return structural metadata information about available datasets and their structure.

GetData

Used to convey data in a non-data structure specific form. Each Data set in this message will have a related structure specification in the header, which states the data structure that the data conforms to and how the data is organised (i.e. the observation dimension).

GetSchema

Schema query is used to query SDMX compliant databases or web services for data structure specific schemas for the purpose of validating structured data.

Rest-SDMX query structure

GetDataStructure Method

To create a datastructure query, a dataset identifier and agency name must be supplied in an URL in the following format:

Using their identifiers, the list of desired dimension values to be included in the result. To get all available dimension values, use the “all” keyword. Dimensions should be separated by a dot (“.”) and for each dimension its values should be separated by the plus sign (“+”). If for a particular dimension, no dimension value identifiers are specified, then all available values of this dimension will be returned. To get the list of dimensions and dimension values, use

The following are a list of specific OECD REST SDMX interface implementation details at this time. Please be advised that the list will be updated to reflect developments and/or new features of the SDMX standard.